Yesterday was the epitome of a ‘picture perfect’ day. Blue skies, sunshine and seventy something. The kind of day that reminds us to live in the moment. Close our eyes; feel the cool breeze and the warm sunshine on our face. Deep breath. Ahhh… Perfection.

The groom was all smiles and the bride was absolutely breathtaking… her gown a soft creamy white with delicate jewels and a veil that sparkled in the sunlight. It was a glorious day for a wedding.

Weddings are magical. A window into that fresh, warm feeling of new love. Just sitting there in the church, you could feel the happiness, the excitement, the anticipation… I started to reminisce about that day, our day, over twenty-eight years ago. About to say “I do” to the man who I loved more than anything. Yes. There would be hard times, we were warned. Marriage is a roller coaster. Ups. Downs. Some really sharp turns. Sure. Life happens. You learn to hold each other close during the good times, and even closer in the bad. Yet; as I sat there yesterday, filled with emotion, I realized something very important. In all of the advice that we received… Everyone had failed to mention one very unexpected consequence of marriage. When I was waiting to walk down the aisle on our wedding day, I was as happy as you can be without exploding out of your own skin. Yes. That happy. I was absolutely certain that I could never love this man any more than I did at that very moment.

I was so wrong.

“I thought I loved you then”. My thoughts, put to music by Brad Paisley. Listen with your heart. If your eyes fill with tears when you hear this song, then I pray that you, my friend, feel blessed as well. And so I feel a certain sense sense of responsibility to forewarn our newlyweds… This is (if you are so blessed) an unforeseen consequence to a long and happy marriage. So consider yourself warned. As for us, this is a marriage that (God willing) still has a long, long way to go.

“What I can’t see is how I’m ever gonna love you more; but I’ve said that before. Now you’re my whole life; now you’re my whole world. I just can’t believe the way I feel about you, girl. We’ll look back someday at this moment that we’re in. And I’ll look at you and say…